Date: 2/22/21 7:49 pm From: dan.cerveny <dan.cerveny...> Subject: [ia-bird] Pileated woodpecker in Cedar Rapids
While shoveling snow off the edge of my roof this morning, I just happened to get a glimpse of a large, dark bird flying into the upper part of a large oak tree a couple houses away. It was not immediately visible when I focused my eyes on the tree, but it began calling with a unique sound I was not familiar with. I was feeling pretty excited. I thought, "Could this possibly be a pileated woodpecker?" It was! The bird flew over to a part of the tree that was broken during the derecho last August and hung out there for several minutes, poking its head into crevices. I was able to get a good look with my binoculars. I feel quite lucky. I'll probably never see another one.
I live on the west side of Cedar Rapids, where ebird shows no other pileated woodpecker sightings.
